What an emotional roller coaster of a ride it has been with the Ottawa Senators these past couple of weeks! From the trade deadline, where there was less "shopping" then expected, a much needed coaching change with hopes of a fresh start; to a hockey game that was less than kind to the Sens. Coach Brian Murray isn't afraid to show any emotion when it comes to the officiating in tonight's game. He was ejected after arguing with the refs consistently during the game over some pretty shady calls, or lack thereof. Needless to say, Brian and his team played on and managed, despite injuries, questionable calls and a walk down Stanley's memory lane, to stay in the game and get some good practice for the playoffs.
Daniel Alfredsson left early in the third period and didn't return. We got to witness Antoine Vermette in Alfie's penalty kill position and worked really hard again tonight leading some great rushes in the third period. Mike Fisher seemed frustrated, probably due to his lack of points in the past eleven uh..twelve games. He threw five hits and again, was a physical presence against a tough team. With the Ducks throwing alot of hard hits especially in the first, the Sens were reminded of how, like last year, the Ducks are a big, rough team and will be tough to beat should they meet them in the big game.
I feel like I should give some shout-outs to players during this tough time of need. Post game interviews were pretty glum. The Sens might just need some encouragement, or a therapist? Guys like Anton Volchenkov and Chris Philips gave Temu Selanne a few obstacles and helped goaltender Martin Gerber stop 28 shots. Gerber was also an emotional fella tonight, he stick poked and even punched the traffic in his crease.
While I'm handing out kudos, J.S Giguère played a stellar game and shut down the Sens in the third period when his team let up on him. He manned his net until the end and led his team to a 3-1 victory over their ex-final partners.
The Sens have an exciting three games ahead of them out west. Hopefully the sun will give them their spirit back so they can play like the stacked and skilled team they are. I'll be in L.A and Phoenix this week covering a team that should benefit from this warm and sunny roadtrip to come back to Ottawa ready to end the season with a bang, and do it all over again...
Katie V.
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